"Ah, big, big... Sir, the Chengfeng is a civilian ship, and there are foreign pirate ships chasing it. Should we fire at the pirate ship? Are you wrong..."
The defenders of the fort couldn't believe their ears. They had never heard that their own fort did not protect their own family, but instead helped the foreign devils.
"Shut up, the French are the ones you can shoot at. If you say they are pirates, they are pirates. If a diplomatic dispute arises, who will be responsible for it?"
"Since the Chengfeng is the property of Lotte Matheson, it is also the property of Xiao Letian. The Emperor and the Queen Mother have ordered that Xiao Letian be eradicated today... You have so many questions, have you already surrendered to the enemy?"
There was a sound of swords being unsheathed, and the cronies sent by Mailer held the sharp swords on the neck of the talkative gunner and said viciously.
"Go... shoot me quickly, otherwise you will surrender to the enemy and treason, and I will chop off your head immediately."
The shouts from the gunner's forehead immediately flowed down: "Master, please calm down, I will fire right away, I will fire right away... I will listen to you, I will listen to you..."
"Hey... that's right, just be obedient. Come here, every one of them who set off the cannons for them will be counted. First, remember the reward number of thirty taels of silver..."
Warfare in the late Qing Dynasty was such a reality. As long as a state of war entered, generals had to prepare considerable amounts of money to reward them. Any military orders must be followed by money. Without money, it would be difficult to move forward.
The messenger sent a message and ran back and forth for more than a hundred miles. For hard work, the stormtroopers selected a hundred people as a reward. This was a stupid job, and the rewards had to be paid in cash. Even the grooms walked at night. You have to travel hundreds of miles to help, and you have to have some money, otherwise no one will be able to sacrifice their lives for you.
There are two types of silver rewards. One is to reward cash silver. When you open your mouth, a bunch of white silver will come out and stuff it directly into your arms. Generally, cash rewards require people to work hard, such as charging into battle, hand-to-hand combat, etc. Money must be given in real terms.
There is another form of reward number, which is called reward note. When the officer says it, a literate person behind him will record it in a book. This kind of money will not be given until the end of the war.
And this kind of reward recording is more maneuverable. Some will refuse to accept the account later, and some will discount it. You can even negotiate a price when cashing in the reward. Everything is the same as doing a business.
When the defenders heard that it was a reward, their spirits suddenly dimmed. If they won this battle, they might get some rewards, but if they lost, these bastards wouldn't admit it.
Everyone turned their backs and began to operate the artillery, looking at each other with knowing eyes. People's hearts have a scale. Since the establishment of the special zone, everyone in Tanggu has a clear understanding of whether their life is good or bad.
Not only that, from the moment Lotte Foreign Trade and Xingtang were established, the garrison and local officials around Tanggu had been bribed in large numbers. Xingtang developed a large number of loyal and dedicated craftsmen. It can't be hidden from Xiao Letian's eyes.
I'm afraid of competition in everything. Xiao Letian handles things in a grand manner and never defaults on his money. Brothers, whoever has a troubled businessman in his family is also a little interested. Look at the group of stupid birds behind him, all of them are pretending. The big-tailed wolf looked quite similar, but in the end he was either beaten or scolded or rewarded, and there was no useful information at all.
No wonder everyone said privately that if you follow Prime Minister Xiao, you are a human being, but if you follow the Qing Dynasty, you are just a dog slave.
"...Two propellant packs...loaded with lead bullets...Why didn't you clean the barrel of the gun? It's rubbish. Let's start over...clean the barrel first...install the propellant packs..."
The cronies sent by Mailer were not fools either. He saw that he was a workhorse, so he angrily raised his whip and cracked it twice, cracking the waistcoat on the back of the chatty gunner.
"Hiss... oh, why do you hit people... how do you hit people."
"Little bastard, can't I understand that you are a master? You are just a plowman... If you don't fire up a pack of cigarettes, I will chop off your head..."
"Oh, my dear, the operation of this coastal defense cannon is very complicated, and it has not been used in six years. Who knows if there is any danger... Hey, hey, stop it, I will fire now, I will fire now. …”
The gunner looked at the Chengfeng getting closer and closer on the sea. When he saw it, he immediately rubbed his eyes and pretended to have sand in them. He thought to himself, "Brother, I'm sorry. I have to live too. Let's fire..."
Boom, boom, boom... The three coastal defense cannons exploded with thunder. The coastal defense cannons, which had been silent for six years, did not fire their shells at the enemy this time, but at their compatriots.
The people sent by Mailer didn't understand how powerful the coastal defense artillery was. They thought it was more limited than the red-coated general's artillery from the Capital Firearms Battalion, so they didn't open their mouths or plug their ears.
As for the defenders at Dagukou, it was too late to hate them. How could they have warned them in advance? These three explosions deafened the arrogant officer.
"Ah...ah...ah..." The stunned officer also dropped his knife on the ground and threw his riding whip somewhere. He just opened his mouth and screamed stupidly.
At this time, Niu Duofu on the sea was also frightened by the sudden sound of artillery. "What's going on? Why is Dagukou firing at us? The enemy is behind us..."
There was a loud bang, and water shot up into the sky and splashed all over him. The defenders of the fort still had a conscience, and these three cannons were deliberately missed.
"Hurry up, hurry up... speed up, just get out of the shooting angle of the fort, a little faster..." The pier of the Special Economic Zone was full of people, even the foreign engineers were anxious, and countless black craftsmen waved their hats, Sweating profusely.
"Chengfeng...accelerate...Chengfeng...accelerate..." At the end of the dock, there was only this shout, and everyone's emotions were aroused by the battleship on the sea.
The fort at Dagukou kept firing. It started with three guns, and gradually became four, five, and ten... Even if the defenders deliberately let go, as the number of artillery increased and the distance shortened, The wind horn has become increasingly dangerous.
The two captains of the French army, Karl and Molde, were now standing on the bow of the ship, laughing from ear to ear, "God bless us...ah hahaha, these Chinese are killing themselves, this stupid nation...ah ha Ha ha."
"Boys, get ready for battle. Even if we can't catch this cunning sailing ship, we can blow it up and sink it in the dock... The Chinese are really a great nation, and what they produce most is great traitors. "
There was joy on the two frigates, and then two pirate flags were raised. They showed their true identities to the entire Tanggu.
The Chengfeng pierced the waves and rushed towards the pier. The water columns produced by the explosion on both sides of the hull were three or four stories high, and they beat on the deck like a heavy rain in the Pacific Ocean.
All the soldiers had expressions of reluctance and confusion on their faces. They could not figure out why the Dagukou Fort fired at them. Even if the ship was the property of Lotte Matheson, even if they were all the Prime Minister's private army, everyone They are all Chinese. How can Chinese people with yellow skin and dark eyes help foreigners to beat their own people?
A feeling of grief and anger filled people's hearts, but now was not the time to condemn. The dock was already close at hand. People even saw several small artillery guns at the SAR dock having adjusted their muzzles and preparing to fire.
Seeing their own artillery, the sailors felt warm in their hearts. The soldiers and even the workers on the dock had already begun distributing weapons. People were waiting for the Chengfeng to enter the port, and then gave the foreign devils a good beating.
Five hundred people, the Chengfeng is now only 500 meters away from the dock. If it advances a little further, it will be able to escape the range of the Dagukou Fort. Hope is in front of us.
Good luck always runs out, and just when the Chengfeng was about to enter safe waters, the last round of shelling at Dagu Pass finally bore fruit.
Amidst the booming gunfire, a solid lead bullet penetrated into the port side of the Chengfeng at a tricky angle. With a bang, a huge breach was blown out, and the entire hull suffered a severe collapse.
"No..." There was an exclamation on the dock. People watched as the rolling waves surged into the hull. Soon the Chengfeng's hull began to capsize to the left.
Niu Duo was so lucky that tears were shed. He had seen Lingshan until the last moment, so why did he fall short? "I'm not willing to give in. I'm not willing to give in..."
The moment he hit the ship's deck with his fist, the sailor on the deck suddenly exclaimed, "Captain, look..." Following the direction of his finger, Niu Duofu spat out a mouthful of old blood.
"Prime Minister, I'm sorry for you..." After saying that, he took out his pistol and put it to his temple. The sailors around him rushed over like crazy, snatched away the pistol and firmly controlled the captain.
"If you let me go, I can't live anymore. All this money is for the big things the Prime Minister said. I am committing an evil act."
On the port side of the Chengfeng, at the big breach, the shell just broke not only the hull, but also the silver mountains in the cargo hold. The silver mountains, which were fixed together by iron wires, are now pouring into the sea. .
They are pieces of industrial silver ingots cast like bricks. Each piece exudes the unique brilliance of silver. Moreover, these are newly minted silver ingots in Mexico. There is no oxidation reaction at all. They are not as beautiful as those silver ingots stored in the Qing Dynasty. So much so that people can even clearly see the eagle logo on the silver ingot.
"Fuck, Xiao Letian is so damn rich..." The Qingyao officer on the Dagukou fort let go of his telescope and dropped it to the ground, smashing it to pieces.
Black eyes saw the white silver, and everyone was dumbfounded. They had never seen such a spectacular scene. A total of 60,000 silver ingots were loaded on the Chengfeng. Even if each silver ingot was only fifty taels, the wealth on this ship was already It has reached 3 million taels of silver.
At that moment, Tanggu Pier was illuminated by the light of silver, so much so that it was renamed Silver Bay after the war.
"Don't let anyone stop me... I'm going to touch the money..." Qing Yao, who was so mad, forgot that he was on a high fort, raised his legs and rushed forward, only to end up like a dog chewing mud. He was probably the one who got out and said he wanted money rather than his life.
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